As Marjory LeBreton steps down, Stephen Harper will need to find loyal replacement to avoid war with Senate

Marjory LeBreton steps down; Stephen Harper needs loyal replacement

When Marjory LeBreton stepped down as leader of the government in the upper chamber Thursday, she left Prime Minister Stephen Harper a delicate problem: who will wrangle his increasingly restive senators now?

Who is Marjory LeBreton?

– Born July 4, 1940 in a rural community now overtaken by the Ottawa neighbourhood of Nepean: “Rural people were really well informed. When a politician came to a local meeting, people attended.”

– First went to work for Conservative party in 1962. Moved to John Diefenbaker’s office when he became opposition leader. “That was sort of the beginning of the beginning.”

– Worked for Diefenbaker, Robert Stanfield, Joe Clark and was deputy chief of staff and in charge of appointments for Brian Mulroney.

– Appointed to the Senate in 1993 by Brian Mulroney.

– Was a key player in Conservative elections since Canada’s last “whistle-stop” campaign of 1965. “I travelled the whole country with Diefenbaker. It was a very long campaign … so I had the privilege of being educated by Diefenbaker for two solid months.”

– Past national chairwoman of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Her daughter Linda, 35, and grandson Brian, 12, were killed by a drunk driver in 1996. “I’ve dealt with great tragedy in my life, but I don’t spend a lot of time dealing with things I can’t change. I’ve always been like that. I deal with situations as they present themselves.”

The government quickly said it would consult with Conservative senators on a replacement for LeBreton, a life-long Conservative who has been on Parliament Hill for five decades, working first for John Diefenbaker and later for Brian Mulroney. But it also noted the next Conservative Senate leader won’t be a member of cabinet, although LeBreton held a central role there.

LeBreton turned 73 on Thursday, and has two years before mandatory retirement as a senator. She was unavailable for interviews Thursday.

In a statement, she said she planned to “be an active member of the Conservative caucus” and “step up” her work for “meaningful Senate reform and also actively back the new strengthened rules we introduced regarding Senate expenses.”

One expert suggested that LeBreton’s resignation as government leader in the Senate was not directly tied to a widening Senate spending scandal. Former Conservative strategist David McLaughlin said ministers “wear out their welcome” over time – “Everybody does.”

But talk of replacing LeBreton had been heating up among some senators over the last month, with names of potential replacements privately floated to the prime minister’s chief of staff, Ray Novak. A combination of the expenses scandal, and push-back against LeBreton’s strong-arm lobbying to pass a controversial private member’s bill on union finances, may have helped nudge her from her post.

On the day the Senate rose for its summer break, 16 Conservative senators bucked the party line and voted to gut the union finance bill, C-377, while four more abstained from voting.

At the same time as the vote on the union bill, Conservative senators decided to create a caucus committee to find ways to better empower government senators. The five-member committee, which includes at least two Harper appointees, is to devise ways to give senators more say in policymaking.

There have been suggestions that as many as 10 Conservative senators have contemplated quitting caucus to sit as independents over their displeasure with how the Harper government has handled the spending affair, the vote on C-377, and its public statements about the Senate.

Over the course of the summer, I will be consulting with members of the Senate caucus

“Over the course of the summer, I will be consulting with members of the Senate caucus before appointing a new government leader in the Senate prior to the resumption of Parliament in the fall,” Harper said in a statement Thursday.

There was no consultation when LeBreton was given the post seven-and-a-half years ago. At the time, Harper needed to keep the fledgling Conservative party united, and LeBreton was a bridge between the new party and one predecessor, the Progressive Conservatives. Now “it’s his party,” McLaughlin said.

Whoever replaces LeBreton will not exert the influence she did in cabinet. LeBreton was vice-chair of the most powerful committee of cabinet — the committee on plans and priorities — which Harper chairs, giving her the moniker of the most powerful woman on Parliament Hill. She will be officially removed from her cabinet positions.

The Harper government signalled that her replacement would not be in cabinet, raising procedural questions such as who could speak for the government in the Senate chamber; normally that person is in cabinet. It isn’t unheard of historically to have a government Senate leader who isn’t part of that inner group, but it hasn’t happened since the 1960s and briefly in the 1970s.

By losing a senator from cabinet, the Conservatives in the upper chamber are left with weekly national caucus meetings as their most regular means to voice their thoughts to the prime minister.

The downgrade to the Senate house leader’s job is likely designed to distance Harper from the spending affair and a criminal probe of the secret payment Harper’s former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, made to Sen. Mike Duffy. McLaughlin called the move “more spin than substance.”

“It’s a new convention and a strange one and would reinforce that the Senate scandal is something (Harper) continues to be preoccupied by,” said McLaughlin, a former top adviser to Mulroney.

McLaughlin said Harper must select someone who will be loyal — “and Marjory was loyal” — while reassuring his Senate caucus. Harper can’t go to war with the Senate, McLaughlin said, because the unelected body might exert its role as a chamber of sober second thought more often than it does now, including on government legislation.

“At the end of the day, what does the prime minister want from the Senate? He wants them to pass his legislation and not be in the news,” McLaughlin said. “Make no mistake: it is about those objectives.”

LeBreton’s announcement came the same day Tory MP Diane Ablonczy said she will not seek re-election in 2015. Earlier this week, Ted Menzies, another Alberta MP, said he would not be running again.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.